In Southeast Fort Collins, pool is top priority

The Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins is on the list for the next round of city capital improvement projects, specifically for additional gardens and a ‘great lawn.’ The list will be whittled down in the fall and presented to voters in 2015.
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A recreation center with pools would cost $35 million to build and $1.3 million a year to operate.

The proposed SE community center would cost $10 million to build and $200,000 a year to operate.

Southeast Fort Collins residents are not giving up on getting a pool in the next wave of city capital improvement projects.

A recently launched online petition calls for reinstating a leisure pool with water park features and a lap-swim pool in plans for a southeast community center. Proponents hope revisions are included in a package of projects being considered by Fort Collins officials.

Other projects in the proposed program include the completion of longstanding plans for additional gardens and a "great lawn" at the Gardens on Spring Creek and major transportation projects, such as building an overpass that would take Lemay Avenue across railroad tracks at Vine Drive.

Proponents of better pool facilities in the city want their voices heard, said southeast Fort Collins resident Devin Hirning, as the city goes through the public process of deciding which projects to include in the capital improvement program.

Residents are frustrated by what they see as a lack of facilities and services in the southeast part of town. Instead, officials are focused on Old Town and the city's core, he said.

The southeast is growing rapidly, with more than 1,000 houses and apartments planned or under construction.

"We see millions of dollars going into MAX and downtown while the issues we have been bringing to their attention for years are not addressed," he said.

The capital improvement program — tentatively named BOB, or Building on Basics, 2.0 by city staff — would be funded through the renewal of 0.25 percent sales tax dedicated to major projects.

A measure extending the tax is expected to be on the April 7 municipal ballot.

Much has to be decided before voters make the final call. A list of projects totaling about $260 million has to be whittled down to $80 million to make the ballot, said Ginny Sawyer, project and policy manager for the city.

During a July 22 council work session, members said they would look for ways to build partnerships and leverage funds as they decide which projects to put into BOB 2.0.

The petition drive for pools was started by the Facebook group Southeast Fort Collins, CO on July 24. In a week it garnered 720 signatures, with nearly all coming from city residents, Hirning said.

The petition drive is intended to keep pressure on City Council members as they weigh which projects to pitch to voters, he said.

"What we hope to accomplish is for the city to not just say they are listening to us but to actually respond to what we are saying to them," Hirning said.

Pools were included in the original concept for a recreation/community center that would be built in Fossil Creek Community Park or on land west of Fossil Ridge High School and just north of the 60-acre site that will be Southeast Community Park.

A leisure pool topped the list of features preferred by residents when the city and its consultants sought the public's input on what should be in the facility. But in fall 2013, City Council balked at the $35 million price tag for a full recreation center and the projected $1.3 million annual operating cost.

Council members also said the proposal wasn't "uniquely Fort Collins" or particularly innovative.

Different approach

The center was re-envisioned by city staff as a community center where residents could meet to socialize and work on creative projects.

The facility would still have some recreational components, but it would "support and enhance our community's desire to create, invent and share ideas while celebrating the entrepreneurial and pioneering values that have always been a part of Fort Collins," according to a city document.

Building the latest version of the community center would cost about $10 million. Its annual operations and maintenance costs would run about $200,000, according to the city.

Preliminary plans for the center include a small pool similar to the type manufactured by the company Endless Pool, said Marty Heffernan, director of community services for the city.

The pool would essentially be a swimming machine with a current that would provide enough resistance that swimmers could get a good workout. But the machine would take up much less space than a traditional pool.

With the water flow element turned off, the pool could be used to teach children how to swim, he said.

Other cities have built centers dedicated to community-based innovation and collaboration with some success, Heffernan said. Centers have been built in Boston and at Stanford University.

City staffers think a similar facility would be well received in Fort Collins, he said.

"Any time something is brand new, it is by definition a little unproven," he said. "But we think this is an exciting way to create a community center."

During a discussion of BOB 2.0 projects July 22, some council members still were not impressed with the community center or the need for it. Others said the southeast side of the city does lack facilities, even though it is home to many voters, and would benefit from a community center.

Jeff Nosal, an organizer of the petition drive for pools, said additional facilities are needed to serve area competitive swimmers as well as entertain families.

Residents want aquatic facilities that are open year-round and not a long drive from home, he said.

Nosal, who lives across town from where the proposed facility would be built, said he and his family would "definitely" visit it.

Taking his sons, ages 8 and 11, to play at a facility in southeast Fort Collins would beat driving to Greeley and its Family FunPlex, he said.

"This is a very expensive project, but it's definitely something that would be a benefit to the community as a whole," he said.

Heffernan the public will have opportunities to help the council pick projects for BOB 2.0. Any idea — including a recreation center with pools — is still "fair game" when it comes to public comment, he said.

What about BOB?

For years, Fort Collins voters have approved renewal of a 0.25 percent sales tax to fund city improvements. The tax equals 25 cents on a $100 purchase.

The last renewal was in 2005 for Building on Basics, or BOB, which funded projects such as supporting the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, expanding the Lincoln and senior centers, and building major road projects.

The tax is scheduled to expire at the end of 2015. A BOB 2.0 extension, expected to be on the April municipal ballot, would renew the tax for another 10 years. It would bring in an estimated $80 million to build projects and support operations and maintenance for some facilities.

A separate measure to extend a 0.25 percent tax dedicated to funding the city's street maintenance program also might be on the April ballot.

What's next

The public process for selecting projects to be included in the BOB 2.0 program is expected to include:

• This week — Launch of a dedicated city website

• August — "Super meeting" for all city boards and commissions

• September — Community issues forum (tentative)

• October — City Council gets the project list down to $80 million to $100 million

• December — Council finalizes the package

• January — Ballot measure set

Potential projects

A sampling of projects that might be considered for the next capital-improvement program in Fort Collins known as BOB, or Building on Basics, 2.0: